There are two chapters below in English. There is
also a Spanish version of Cancel Christmas that will be available.

The following prologue is not in
the first edition. It will be included in any future publications. You can print
it and add it to your present book.

PROLOGUE

A shooting star appears in the sky. It passes over the North Pole and
heads towards Santa-land where there are two barns, a small, cozy
cottage and a workshop that surrounds a courtyard covered with snow.
The shooting star nears Santa-land, it is going to
crash in the courtyard. The bright light of the shooting star dims
slightly and transforms into a glowing reindeer. It is Flasher, a
reindeer whose fur emits a glowing bright light. He leads eight tiny
reindeer, who are pulling Santa's sleigh. Santa, a plump, merry elf with
white hair and a white beard sits in the empty sleigh, holding the
reins. He is dressed in a red outfit trimmed in white. He wears black
boots and a wide black belt with a shiny buckle - on his head is a red
hat trimmed in white with a white tassel. The reindeer are bring Santa
home from his deliveries. It is early Christmas morning. The sun is
starting to rise into the sky.
Icy
dark mountains overlook the North pole and beyond to Santa-land. There
is an entrance to a cave half way up the mountain. A group of strange
creatures look out of the cave at the shooting star as it settles into
Santa-land. These creatures are trolls, who are short and paunchy with
skinny legs, large bodies and black spiked hair. They wear dark colored
jerseys and black tight pants. The trolls look somewhat alike, except
for Grug, who is skinny, and Bug, who is fat.
Their
leader, Bogwig, towers over them. He is tall and menacing, with a large
mole on his large nose, a long curling black moustache and long scraggly
black hair. He is dressed in a dark suit, a battered top hat and a
flowing black cape lined with red.
Bogwig walks to the edge of the cave
and speaks, "There goes Santa again. Giving away all of those toys
to those stupid kids. I've had enough of him. It's time I canceled
Christmas. This will be his last Christmas."
The trolls all shouted, "Yeah!
Yeah! No more Christmas!"
Bogwig grunts, "Come! We must
make plans. This year, Santa is going to Cancel Christmas. Ha! Ha!
Ha!"
They all laugh as they enter the cave.

The reindeer set the sleigh down in
the courtyard. Flasher's bright shiny fur has dimmed to a warm glow. The
sound of the sleigh-bells bring the elves out of the workshop to welcome
Santa home. They are about two heads shorter than Santa. Some wear long
side burns, some wear beards and others moustaches. They are dressed in
tights and waistcoats with large brown belts.
Gribby, Santa's main elf, leads the
elves. He is a head shorter than Santa and dressed in green tights and a
red waistcoat. He is proud to be Santa's main elf. He greets Santa and
walks beside him towards the workshop. The elves in the background lead
the reindeer into the barn. Gribby and Santa walk towards the workshop.
Gribby speaks, "Welcome back
Santa. How was your trip?"
"It was wonderful, Gribby. I
really enjoyed myself this year. On the way home, I had a great idea for
next Christmas. It will be a big surprise for Mrs. Santa. I can hardly
wait.
Santa and Gribby enter the workshop.
A year has passed. It is December 23rd
again. Gusty winds cause the falling snow to swirl and drift around the
buildings. Light from a large window of the workshop shines warmly
across the white floor of the empty courtyard, illuminating the falling
snow.

CHAPTER ONE

Santa-Land

For as long as anyone can remember, the
North Pole has been the home of Santa Claus. Every Christmas Eve Santa and his reindeer
travel over the rooftops, delivering gifts to children around the world. He and his
helpers, who are mostly elves, work all year long making toys and presents for Christmas.
They love their jobs, knowing the joy their work will bring to the children. It is fun for
them, and they have always finished on time for Santa's deliveries. But, there was one
year, not so long ago, that Santa almost missed Christmas.
It happened on a dark, wintry night, only
a few days before Christmas. That night, cold, gusty winds from the North caused the
falling snow to swirl and drift around Santa-Land. But Santa's house, his workshop and the
barns where he kept the sleighs and the reindeer formed a courtyard, a protective circle
that tamed the wind and the snow. A light from a large window of the workshop fell warmly
across the white floor of the courtyard and illuminated flakes of snow as they fell. There
were only a few days left; it was going to be a very white Christmas.
Inside the workshop, a bright fire crackled
in the large fireplace. The elves were working on the toys, doing the many chores that
needed to be done by Christmas Eve. They were painting faces on the dolls, putting wheels
on the wagons, runners on the sleds, making hats for the wooden soldiers, sorting the
games, and much, much more. Santa sat at his desk checking his list of children, while
Mrs. Santa sat in a rocking chair near the fireplace. She was sewing a new hat for Santa.
She frequently visited the workshop when she wasn't busy at home. Although the workshop
was busy, it was cozy and peaceful.
Gribby, one of the elves, who was Santa's
main man, supervised. He walked through the workshop solving problems and making sure that
all of Santa's instructions were carried out.
Gribby threw another log on the
fire, brushed off his hands and said, "Well, Santa, we are running out of materials;
Christmas must be just around the corner."
"Yes, Gribby, it is only a few days away."
Mrs. Santa looked up from her sewing and said,
"Santa, this year you must try to get some rest before Christmas Eve. I am worried
about you. Remember last year, you fell asleep at the reins, and Donder and Blitzen had to
stay on either side of the sleigh to keep you from falling out."
He smiled, "Yes, dear, I remember, but we
got every toy delivered, and I had a wonderful ride home. It was a beautiful night. I
always feel so good when I'm finished delivering the toys. It gives me great joy to know
that the children will wake up feeling happy."
Gribby said, "I remember last year. We
had more exchanges from the deliveries in the last three towns than we had from the entire
United States in the last five years."
"Now, Gribby, it wasn't that bad."
Gribby poked the fire and remarked, "Maybe
not for you, but how would you feel if you were a little boy and woke up with a baby doll
for Christmas? And, what about the little girl, who woke up with a pair of boxing gloves
under her tree?"
Mrs. Santa closed her sewing basket,
inspected the new hat, and satisfied with her work, tried it on Santa. She said,
"Really, dear, I do hope you get some rest before you leave. I worry so, when you
don't take care of yourself."
The hat was a perfect fit. He patted her hand and
said, "You're right my dear, but don't worry, this year we are ahead of schedule.
Gribby's crew is so far ahead that we will be finished by tomorrow night. I will have
plenty of time for rest."
Mrs. Santa clapped her hands together. "I'm
so glad; you really need to rest. I'm going to go home now and make a big plum pudding for
Christmas."
Santa licked his lips and said, "Mmm! My
favorite dessert. Please remember the candied cherries."
"I will, Dear, and of course I'll make
enough for the elves too."
There were sounds of enthusiastic approval
from the elves, "Mmm! Oh Boy!" They chorused. "You make the best plum
pudding."
Mrs. Santa removed Santa's hat and kissed
him on the forehead, "Please come home as soon as you can." She turned to the
elves, "Good night, Gribby. Good night, all."
The elves looked up from their work and
waved and called, "Good night! Good night, Mrs. Santa."

Santa walked his wife
to the hallway, kissed her on the cheek and waited, as she walked to the outside doorway
and into the night. She pulled her coat tighter, as she lowered her head into the gusting
winds and made her way over the drifts of snow.
He stood by the window, watching her walk
toward their cozy little house across from the workshop. He smiled, as she turned toward
the barn. The elves heard him softly say, "She loves the reindeer so much; she can't
walk past the barn without looking in on them."
Santa turned from the window, "Gribby,
this is going to be a great holiday; I feel it in my bones. Thanks to you and your
helpers, the children will have another happy Christmas. It would be very sad, if the
children ever lost Christmas."
Gribby, pleased by this compliment,
promised, "We won't ever let that happen, Santa."
All of the elves joined in, "No, Santa, we won't ever let
that happen."

CHAPTER TWO

The Note

Santa scratched his head, "The list
checks out," he said, "I wish I knew what is bothering me."
As always, he checked his list twice. There were more
children in the world now, and each year Santa's orders grew bigger and bigger.
Overlooking a child was his biggest fear.
The workshop was quiet. Everyone was concentrating on the final
details. As Santa put down his list, a loud knock on the outside door startled everyone.
They all stopped their work and listened. It was rare for anyone to visit the workshop. It
was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Gribby said, "I'll get it Santa."
Santa scratched his head, "I wonder who that could be. We
don't get many visitors up here."
As Gribby opened the outside door, a gust of cold wind pushed
snow into his eyes. When he cleared them, the doorway was empty. He stepped out into the
courtyard, then peered over to the barn and down to Santa's house ... Nothing ... There
was no one in sight. Upon returning, he saw a note pinned to the door. With the note in
his hand he entered the workshop and went immediately to Santa.
"Who was knocking on the door, Gribby?"
"I don't know, Santa. No one was there, but I found
this note stuck on the door; it's addressed to you."
"Hmm! Let's see what this is all about."
As Santa read the note, his face showed confusion and
alarm. Jumping to his feet, he grabbed his hat and coat from the rack and rushed outside
into the snow. Gribby and the elves ran to the window.
Lolly, who was in charge of making the lollipops, picked
up the note that had fluttered to the floor and joined the others at the window. Santa
plowed through the snow, went straight to the barn and immediately hitched Flasher to the
one-horse-open-sleigh. He jumped into the sleigh and they were gone in a flash of light.
There were two reasons Santa called this reindeer Flasher: he
was very fast and his fur glowed in the dark. Many a dark Christmas Eve, Flasher lit the
way for Santa. Some people said that if you saw a shooting star on Christmas Eve, there
was a good chance that it was Flasher leading Santa Claus and his reindeer to the children
around the world.
Candy, who was in charge of the candy canes, said,
"I wonder where he is going, in such a rush?"
Coco, one of the older elves, exclaimed,
"Yes, where is he going and why? This is very strange."
Tweet, who always had new ideas, added, "He
went past his house without stopping."
Lolly, who was behind the other elves, was jumping up
and down in order to see out of the window. Finally, he said, "Gribby! Santa dropped
this note. Maybe it will explain why he ran out in such a hurry."
Gribby read the note. "Oh! This is terrible.
Listen to this: 'We have taken Mrs. Santa. If you want to see her again, cancel
Christmas.' It's signed, Bogwig-Of-The-North."
The elves, cried out, "Bogwig!
Bogwig-of-the-North! The king of the evil trolls!"
"Yes! He lives in The-Great-Ice-Caves beyond
the North Pole," said Gribby, "He is the king of the meanest bunch of trolls in
all of the land. I have never seen him, but I hear he is a very evil man."
The elves moaned and groaned; they feared for Santa's
safety.